Thousands still ill from toxic milk

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China's health ministry says that nearly 11,000 children are still in hospital after drinking toxic milk products.

And the number of children who have been made ill may has nearly doubled to 94,000 since the ministry's last public count, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday, citing local media.

The number of babies who have died from drinking milk contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine remains at four, the ministry said, but eight of the hospitalised babies are in a serious condition.

The health ministry said on Wednesday that 10,666 children were still in hospital and that 36,144 had been discharged, but it did not give a figure for children who had received outpatient treatment.

The number of children being brought to hospitals after drinking contaminated milk is said to be falling.

Chen Junshi, a researcher from the Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety of Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said: "The daily reports of infants who were diagnosed and hospitalised are decreasing noticeably."

Still falling sic


So far, four babies have died after drinking melamine-laced milk [EPA]

But new cases were still being identified, with the health ministry saying that 539 affected children were admitted to hospital for suspected melamine poisoning on Wednesday alone.

The health ministry did not give an overall figure for the number of children affected so far, but reports from local media across the country compiled by Reuters suggest the number of affected children had risen to nearly 94,000, although most were not seriously ill.

In the most extreme case, in northwestern Gansu province, the number of sick children climbed to 13,459 by September 26 from 1,695 a week earlier, the official Xinhua agency said.

Worst hit so far was central Henan province, with more than 30,000 cases by the end of September, while neighbouring Hebei has nearly 16,000 cases.

The province is home to the Sanlu Dairy group, which made the contaminated formula that sparked the broader scandal.

And some of the country's most densely populated provinces and cities, such as Shanghai, have not yet disclosed any figures.

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New safety standards


Chinese food exporters have suffered huge losses since the scandal broke [EPA]



Despite the rash of cases across the country, the government says it has the problem under control and recent checks have found no trace of melamine in liquid milk.

And as part of an ongoing effort to restore confidence in the "made in China" brand, the government on Wednesday released new dairy safety standards, that set limits on melamine, a cheap industrial chemical that can be used to cheat quality checks.

China's food exports have suffered significantly since news of the scandal broke.

More than 30 countries, from Europe to Asia and Africa, have banned, recalled or found contamination in Chinese dairy products.

Under the guidelines announced on Wednesday, the health ministry said deliberate tainting by melamine was explicitly forbidden.

"Melamine cannot be used as an ingredient or additive in food products," said Wang Xuening, the deputy director of the ministry's health supervision bureau.

"For those who add melamine into food products, their legal responsibility will be investigated."